Medical News

RSS

Ryan sees Medicare issue as opportunity

Paul Ryan addressed Medicare in a stump speech for the first time, saying the debate is one "we will win." But Vice President Joe Biden offered a very different view of the Republicans' Medicare plan, calling it a "voucher system."

17 Aug 2012

Increasing blood levels of particular proteins may act as warning signs for IgA nephropathy

Increasing blood levels of particular proteins may act as warning signs for patients with one of the most common diseases of the kidney, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

17 Aug 2012

Top-of-the-ticket sparring focuses on Medicare

In a Wednesday campaign appearance, President Barack Obama and GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney went on the attack, trading barbs over the Medicare program. For Romney, it included taking steps to distance himself from the ideas advanced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Paul Ryan, his pick for running mate.

17 Aug 2012

Tobacco use survey demonstrates urgent need for policy change in low and middle-income countries

An international survey of tobacco use in three billion individuals, published in the current issue of The Lancet, demonstrates an urgent need for policy change in low- and middle-income countries, according to the University at Buffalo professor who led the research.

17 Aug 2012

Blog examines use of controversial HIV drug in Malawi

This post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines the use of stavudine, "also known as d4T, an antiretroviral treatment that was dropped in wealthy countries years ago and that the World Health Organization has recommended stop being included in treatment programs," to treat HIV in Malawi.

17 Aug 2012

Two eminent cancer specialists and EORTC to be recognized at ESMO 2012 Congress

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) announced today the names of two eminent cancer specialists and one European institution that will be recognized for their contribution to the advancement of medical oncology at the ESMO 2012 Congress.

17 Aug 2012

How the entertainment industry relates to mental illness

The shift in television characterizations might be a result of pressure from groups such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which sends out monthly newsletter alerts praising or panning entertainment portrayals of mental illness. Or maybe it's the fact that more than one-fourth of Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder every year. No doubt, a lot of Hollywood insiders can relate. The more accurate portrayals might even be because creative folks are getting tired of the same old stories.

17 Aug 2012

East Meets West to advance hygiene and sanitation practices in Cambodia, Vietnam

East Meets West has received a US $10.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve sanitation and hygiene practices among the rural poor in Vietnam and Cambodia.

17 Aug 2012

Communication problems between clinicians and mothers of critically ill newborns

Research from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center suggests that common language may also be the divide standing between mothers of critically ill newborns and the clinicians who care for them.

17 Aug 2012

HHS using pharmacies to sell health law benefits to seniors

The Department of Health and Human Services is touting a partnership with major retail pharmacies to tell seniors about health law benefits.

17 Aug 2012

Mullite can reduce pollution produced by diesel vehicles

Engineers at a company co-founded by a University of Texas at Dallas professor have identified a material that can reduce the pollution produced by vehicles that run on diesel fuel.

17 Aug 2012

Hedge funds see investment potential resulting from health law

Fund managers appeared to be placing bets on health insurers -- starting before the Supreme Court's health law ruling.

17 Aug 2012

Diabetes Research Institute to receive JDRF-HCT grant for islet encapsulation study

JDRF, in collaboration with The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (HCT), announced today that it has finalized a grant in the area of islet cell encapsulation to Dr. Camillo Ricordi, M.D. and a team of investigators at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), based at the University of Miami (FL).

17 Aug 2012

WFP begins series of air drops to deliver food to refugees in South Sudan

"The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) carried out the first in a series of air drops to replenish rapidly diminishing food stocks for more than 100,000 people in South Sudan who have fled fighting in Sudan," the U.N. News Centre reports.

17 Aug 2012

Research examines relative impact of militarization and corruption on civilian populations

New research out of the University of Cincinnati is believed to be the first to examine the relative impact of militarization and corruption on civilian populations. The findings reveal that a specific form of military organization-praetorian militarization-as well as national-level corruption-both adversely affect the well-being of citizens.

17 Aug 2012

Kenyan President announces additional funding for national AIDS response

"Kenya's government, under the leadership of President Mwai Kibaki, has allocated additional funding to its national AIDS response," UNAIDS reports in a feature story on its webpage, noting, "The announcement came last Friday during a high level advocacy meeting in Nairobi."

17 Aug 2012

Promising new treatment for bronchiectasis

Researchers have identified a promising new treatment for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis, a long-term lung disorder which causes persistent coughing and breathlessness. The results, published in The Lancet, could represent an important advance in the treatment of this debilitating disease, for which very few evidence-based treatments are currently available.

17 Aug 2012

Early MRI scans for acute lower back injury may lead to increased disability

If you've recently hurt your back on the job, getting a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan won't increase your chances of a good recovery, suggests a study in the August 15 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

17 Aug 2012

Innovative financing models can impact health in low-income urban communities

"Having just returned to New York from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, I'm reminded how lucky we are in this city to have reliable water and sanitation services," David Winder, chief executive of WaterAid USA, writes this post in Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

17 Aug 2012

Pyruvate kinase M2 fuels tumor growth by influencing H3 histone protein

A metabolic protein that nourishes cancer cells also activates tumor-promoting genes by loosening part of the packaging that entwines DNA to make up chromosomes, a team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Aug. 16 issue of Cell.

17 Aug 2012